dave niehaus.
December 12, 2010 | 12:56 AM
曲：Simply The Best - Tina Turner
The groundskeepers tribute to Dave Niehaus' catchphrase, everytime something great happened during a Mariners game.
And the song they were playing at the end of the Dave Niehaus tribute.
I hang on every word you say was probably the only line I heard amidst tears and the montage of shots they put up for Dave, shots of the broadcast booth where Dave used to sit.
It was a great celebration of his life; fans gathered to listen to Rick Rizzs, Dave's son and daughter, Ron Fairly, and former Mariner greats Dan Wilson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Mariners president Chuck Armstrong.. everyone had something great to say about Dave Niehaus, and it was an afternoon of crying and laughing, really. But the best eulogy came from the President of the WA Council for the Blind, where she talked about how Dave's voice on radio helped blind and visually impaired fans see the game - that was how amazing Dave was.
I started listening, albeit unconsciously, to Dave Niehaus in 2004 when Ichiro first broke the single season hits record at 258 hits - it was a big day for baseball, and a great moment, so everyone was tuning in.
and in those years after that when i wanted to watch Mariners baseball but couldn't cause Mariners games were not broadcast on ESPNStar, I listened to radio and watched the live play-by-play update with animated figures at the batter's box. And the voice that always greeted you at the start of every game was Dave's. I never knew that you could see baseball just by listening to a voice, but Dave Niehaus made it happen. I tried listening to other radio broadcasters, but seriously, no one could do it as well as he did, the pictures he painted.
When television was first introduced in the 50s and 60s, a teacher once asked his class, "Which is better, television or radio?" The whole class said TV, except for one little boy, who answered Radio.
"Why?" asked the teacher.
"The pictures are better."
People were thanking Dave for being the voice of their homes for so many decades; I wished I could say that, but at least I can say he was the voice that introduced me to the wonders of baseball, and made me realise that baseball was more than just an American sport, and more than just homeruns and strikes. I am really sorry I won't get to hear him next season, and like Rick Rizzs said, at the first homerun of spring training, the first 3 strikes out, the first grand slam, you'll miss him the most.
What a man.
velda.
